


Follow The Stars

by CiaranthePage



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 08:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5659528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiaranthePage/pseuds/CiaranthePage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A pink pearl, longing and desperate.<br/>A lost peridot, afraid and wandering.<br/>A meeting, only by chance, yet loved by fate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pink Pearl

She was a pink pearl, lovingly crafted and dressed. Her shoulders were exposed, and so was the shimmering orb in her back. Her hair fell in front of her eyes, though millennia of practice had taught her to see through it. Her skin glowed like petals in sunlight, and her feet trod as lightly as the breeze.

 

But she was not content. She stood by her liege, day after day, year after year, century by century. Watched gems come and go, come and go, come and go and never return. She heard of the war outside only in whispers, and then her liege left. Her liege was one of the many who never returned from outside the door.

 

After the war, she was given as a prize to someone higher up. They dressed her in more frills and drapery than she ever thought possible. Every inch of her skin was bare, save the front of her torso and whatever back lay below her gem. But every inch was also covered, in sheer fabric the same hue as her new owner’s eyes. It fell from her shoulders, her waist, her head. A crown held the veil that blurred her vision even more.

 

She stood. It was all she knew how to do. On occasion, her new owner (she had been forbidden from even _thinking_ of her as a liege. She was no leader -- only an _owner_ ) would request that she sing. And sing she would -- a voice as lovely and silky as the fabric that held her form. It was the only time she heard her own voice. She thought, quite often, but the voice in her head was not quite what spilled out of her mouth.

 

She was traded again, for something newer. Her new owner loved the older pearls, according to a soft whisper she heard on the way. This new owner took the drapery from her head and shoulders but left what fell off her waist. She claimed she looked more “old fashioned” with the skirt of sheer purple that fell from her waist, clad tightly in a leotard that bared the core of her being and her slouching shoulders. It was found that she could sing, she could walk, she could dance. She was put to work as a performer, and told that she would escort the guests that saw her back to the door. A tight blue collar was put around her neck, and somehow, she knew this was her final owner.

 

Whispers had reached her, however. Whispers of a Pearl -- many pearls, some said -- who had broken this. Who no longer wore the shimmering skirts. Who no longer sang for others. Who held a weapon like a warrior. Who took _down_ warriors. Whispers of a Pearl who was _free_.

 

And to be like this Pearl was all she ever wanted. Even though a pearl was not allowed to speak, to think, to want, she wanted this like nothing else. She whispered of this want to other pearls, who assured her that it was not an uncommon desire. After the war, they whispered, it was possible. But difficult. So difficult it was better to hope and dream and never plan. Because plans always failed.

 

But when a lost peridot walked into her owner’s hall, a peridot whose number pulled up the word **DECEASED** when searched, there was a flicker of something within the pink pearl.

 

A flicker of hope. A flicker of desire. A flicker of _determination_.

  
A plan.


	2. Lost Peridot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was a Peridot.  
> She was respected.  
> And then she was lost.

She was a peridot. Peridot 65794, facet 6E7I, cut 4AC. Given a uniform, a mission, and expected to finish it. She  _ did _ finish them. She was afraid of everything that would happen if she did not. Her finished products were flawless, and she was allowed bigger projects. She was as respected as a Peridot could get.

 

So respected, in fact, that she was given a mission to plant the first seeds of a new colony.

 

A group of Peridots were assigned to the task. 65794 and four others. They were given an Amethyst to guard them, and sent to the new planet to work.

 

Work they did. Day in, day out, learning and tracking the new system of time and making sure to plot everything correctly. They were each given a small task within the new colony, and told to set everything up. More gems would be arriving soon. Everything had to be perfect for their arrival. The Peridots knew that failure meant death. New colonies were not something to take lightly.

 

65794 was determined to make this her best work yet. She had a good feeling -- even when a mysterious light lit up the sky as she worked one night. Even as a call from another Peridot started to go through, and then stopped. The Amethyst was nowhere to be seen, but that was okay. The lifeforms on this planet could be easily dealt with using just her limb enhancers.

 

And then it came.

 

There was a cracking sound. The sound of a gem shattering into pieces, followed by a low growl. 65794 turned. Outside her window was --

 

The remains of a Peridot. Strewn across the ground. It didn’t look like an entire set, either. The core, the heart -- it was missing.

 

She took a step outside. Another low growl.

 

She only saw the creature for a moment, but what she did see would stay with her forever. It looked like at some point it had been a quartz, going by the teardrop shaped gem on its neck. Its eyes were burning, shifting pits of more colors than 65794 had ever seen in one place. Pink hair hung from its somewhat normal head, but that was where it stopped looking normal. A white club, covered in spikes and shards of gems, seemed nearly fused to its hand. Spikes of as many colors as its eyes rose up from its skin, and black liquid seemed to leak from a few of the wounds they caused. Its teeth were broken, cracked, sharp as the spikes. It crept towards her, footsteps dragging. It growled again, and she heard a soft word under its breath. “ _ Wrong _ .”

 

She ran. She ran away, as fast as she could in her panicked state. It didn’t go after her, simply trudged along towards where the Amethyst had gone. As she ran, 65794 put in a short call for reinforcements, simply stating that it was an emergency before she sent it.

 

She found a ship. It was an official ship -- in very nice condition, too! She rushed towards it, eager to tell the reinforcements the entire situation.

 

They were arguing when she came in. They almost turned her away, until she cried out about the creature she’d seen. One of them -- a Celestine -- looked back at her. She picked her up by the back of the uniform, holding her almost a foot in the air. The Celestine asked a single question.

 

“Where is its gem?”

 

65794 was shaking, shaking, shaking. She tried to remember, tried to place it on the other’s body. She put a single floating finger on her neck, and the Celestine’s eyes went wide. She asked more questions, asked what sort of gem it was. All 65794 could stammer out was nine words.

 

“It looks like it used to be a quartz.”

 

They dropped her. They left. She stayed. She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to see. She would leave once they came back, she assumed. She could see how many of her coworkers had perished.

 

They came back holding the gem of the creature and fawning over it in worry. She realized they weren’t reinforcements.

 

They were renegades. And she was now their prisoner.

 

A dark gem took hold of 65794. She smiled, and everything went dark.

 

When she awoke, she was lost. 65794 was without enhancers, without knowledge, without any idea of where in Yellow Diamond’s name she was.

 

And she remained lost. Even after another group found her, even when they gave her dataless enhancers to replace her old ones, even after they gave her the name “Perii”, even after they dropped her off on another gem controlled planet.

 

But she didn’t feel lost when she walked into a general’s base, looking for help. She didn’t feel lost when she told them her id number, her cut, her facet.

 

She did feel lost when they told her she was dead. She did feel lost when the general said there was nothing they could do, it was out of their hands. She did feel lost when the soft pink pearl by the general’s side lead her to the door.

  
She didn’t feel lost when the Pearl whispered to meet her after dark.


	3. Return By Nightfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're here!" she said softly. "You're actually here!"  
> "Of course," Perii responded, trying not to look so shocked at the sight of a Pearl in such a ... modest outfit. "I have nowhere else to go."  
> "Well, I do," the Pearl hummed. "So we're leaving."  
> "Leaving to where?" Perii asked.  
> "Somewhere."

Perii returned at nightfall. The Pearl had instructed her to move around to the east wall, and get over the boundary there. The space between it and the walls of the canal was too narrow for a quartz -- but a Peridot could fit. So around the base she went. The space was indeed narrow, and Perii was only barely able to fit. She used her fingers to fly over, ready to defend herself if needed.

 

Nothing greeted her except a garden. The flowers were crystalline, obviously not native to this planet. Perii wandered around as quietly as she could, looking for the gem whose request had brought her here in the first place.

 

A small flash of pink caught her attention, and there she was. The pink pearl, smiling at her. Except -- she was adorned with a different outfit.

 

Her leotard and sheer skirt had been replaced by a simple shirt whose sleeves almost covered her thin hands over leggings and an opaque skirt that fell to her knees. Her outfit was no longer blue, and instead varying shades of pink. Even the ribbon tied around her neck was a deep magenta, its bow off to the side and decorated with shining glitter. Her hair was out of her face, revealing her pale pink eyes.

 

"You're here!" she said softly. "You're actually here!"

 

"Of course," Perii responded, trying not to look so shocked at the sight of a Pearl in such a ... modest outfit. "I have nowhere else to go."

 

"Well, I do," the Pearl hummed. "So we're leaving."

 

"Leaving to where?" Perii asked.

 

"Somewhere," the Pearl said. "Somewhere we won't be questioned."

 

"A pearl and a peridot, together?" Perii shook her head. "I cannot think of anywhere we would not draw attention."

 

"Then we'll wing it!" the Pearl grinned.

 

Perii felt a small smile creep onto her face. "Okay," she stated. "What is your plan for escape?"

 

"My mistress has many ships nearby," the Pearl explained. "If we can take off in one of the smaller ones, no one will notice until sunrise! There is a catch, though."

 

"Which is?"

 

"We'll have to take out one of the guards and mark both them and myself as missing."

 

"...why not dead?" Perii questioned. "I might be able to do so. But why missing?"

 

"Dead is too suspicious," the Pearl huffed. "But missing ... I have a plan, I'll tell you when we get to that part."

 

"Noted," Perii said. "We should proceed."

 

"Alright," the Pearl stood up straight. "There's a guard just by the door. There's only one, so a good hit should take them out."

 

"What kind of hit is that?"

 

"I dunno. A laser shot? I don't exactly have a weapon."

 

"Neither do I."

 

"I've seen Peridots work!! You have limb enhancers, can't they do anything?"

 

"...perhaps."

 

Perii looked around the corner to where the guard was. It was some sort of smaller guard -- likely an in between for the normal quartz guards. She looked back at the Pearl, who nodded. "That's the one," she said, holding onto Perii's arm.

 

"That one? They're not that big," Perii said. "Can't you do anything?"  


"Have you ever  _met_ a Pearl?" she said, wrinkling her nose. "We're not _allowed_ to do anything, so I have no idea what I'd even do."

 

Perii sighed, shifting closer. She stayed hidden within the plants around them, raising her limb enhancer at the guard. She was nervous. This was understandable. She'd only ever used this feature twice before, and if she missed ... well, she was already dead in the system. A small ball of green light gathered between her fingers, lighting up their faces. The guard turned their head ever so slightly --

 

And she let go. The ball flew towards the guard and struck them right in the chest. Their form released in a flash of light and Perii stood up straight. The Pearl was beaming, still holding onto Perii's arm. "You did it," she said, her voice only reaching about as loud as a whisper. "You got them! Let's get their gem and go."

 

She darted out of the plants, leaving a stunned Perii behind. She didn't even know she could do that, in all honesty. She'd never tried to use the canon against anything bigger than a rodent, and never even  _considered_ using it against a superior gem. But a lot of things had happened over the last few cycles. This was simply going to be one of them.

 

The Pearl came back with the gem in her hands, rubbing at its surface with one of her sleeves. "It fell in the dirt," she whispered. "So no cracks. Now we have to get back over the wall, and out to the shipyard. Did you see it on your way in?"

 

Perii nodded slowly. She vaguely remembered seeing the building where the ship who left her here had docked. "I do," she said. "But, I have a question."

 

"What is it?" the Pearl said, looking up from the gem. "Is there something wrong?"

 

"Why is your voice so quiet?"

 

The Pearl stopped completely for a second. Her entire form was still, and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before answering, in the same soft voice, "I'm supposed to be quiet, I guess."

 

"But you are leaving. Those rules no longer apply."

 

"...I don't wanna talk about it right now."

 

Her face had wrinkled up, and she looked almost pained. Perii didn't quite understand it, but it made her feel... bad. So she did the only thing that came to mind.

 

Perii blinked. "Apologies, ma'am. I didn't mean to upset you. Let us continue forward."

 

The Pearl's face relaxed, and she looked down at the ground. Her cheeks were tinged ever so slightly with gray, but Perii took no notice. "Yeah," she said, wrapping one arm around Perii's again. "How did you get over the wall? I can probably jump over."

 

"I flew," Perii answered.

 

"That sounds like so much fun!" the Pearl exclaimed, her voice jumping to almost a normal volume. "Can you fly me over too?"

 

"Perhaps?" Perii mused. "We can try. There is still quite a bit of time before dawn."

 

"That was the plan," the Pearl giggled. "C'mon, I'll hold on tight."

 

They slunk over to the east wall again, keeping an eye out for other guards. The Pearl kept a tight grip on the gem in her hands, and she was almost shaking. With fear or excitement -- it was unclear. Perii reached the wall, and she stabilized herself quickly. "I am going to fly us over," Perii stated. "Be careful. Don't hit your feet on the wall."

 

Her fingers began to spin, and they floated up into the air. The Pearl made a surprised noise, halfway between a shocked squeak and a giggle. She drew her much longer legs upwards, curling inwards. Their flight was short lived, but she was still giggling when they touched down on the other side of the wall. "That was so fun!" she said, her voice quiet once again.

 

"I guess," Perii said, smiling despite her flat tone. "We should keep going forward. The ship might be guarded. I don't want to risk discovery."

 

"Oh it's most _certainly_ guarded," the Pearl snorted. "We'll have to sneak by. They can't do anything once we're inside."

 

"How long have you considered this plan?" Perii asked, raising an eyebrow. "It sounds like you have this sorted out in its entirety."

 

"You have  _no idea_ ," the Pearl said, leaning on her slightly. "It's been. Diamonds, probably _centuries_. Maybe even longer."

 

"That is. Quite a long time," Perii nodded nervously. "You must have been eager to escape."

 

"I was," the Pearl smiled. "But now I'm outside the walls, and I'm closer than I've ever been before."

 

Perii turned away, not looking at her face any longer. She kept walking, leading them forward. "It's not too far," she said eventually, spotting the building. "Do you know approximately how many ships are inside?"

 

The Pearl shook her head. "Nope. I just know that she has a few small ones close to the back of the building. We should go around! There'll probably be fewer guards that way."

 

"Correct," Perii said. "I did not see many guards at all on the outsides of the building. It is likely we could get in that way."

 

The Pearl snickered, almost too quiet for Perii to hear. "What was that?" Perii questioned.

 

"Nothing. I just thought your tone was funny."

Perii shook her head to dismiss the comment. They continued on, the Pearl hanging off of Perii’s arm. No one seemed to notice them, creeping through the dark. Though it was likely that was because no one actually  _ looked _ . To see gems walking around at night wasn’t particularly strange. Without her Pearl garb, the Pearl could almost pass as some other gem so long as she was with the Peridot. Perii, on the other hand, was not suspicious until someone asked for her id number. The enhancers she’d gotten were, after all, completely empty of data.

 

But for now, it was going well.

 

They managed to reach the shipyard and crawl inside through an open door. There was one small ship left -- apparently the others had been taken on missions already.

 

A single guard stood within sight. She was leaning against the wall, her markings suggesting she was some type of Jasper. Her gaze was somewhat lazy, and directed away from the two gems sneaking in to steal the ship.

 

“We should go inside before she notices,” the Pearl whispered. “It’s already open, see? I think they were preparing it for a mission.”

 

“Perfect,” Perii smiled. “Our departure will have even less of a chance of being noticed.”

 

“You’re right,” the Pearl’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go, c’mon!”

 

She tugged Perii along, walking up the small walkway and into the ship. Perii’s footsteps echoed on the cold floor, but no one seemed to be inside the ship.

 

“You … have flown a ship before, right?” the Pearl asked.

 

“Of course. We all took turns flying when sent on missions,” Perii assured her. “It will be nothing difficult.”

 

Perii gently shook the Pearl off of her arm, walking towards the control room with a quick suggestion that she should check the ship. The Pearl still followed her, running her hands over the control panel as if looking for something. She pushed a button, and a gem destalizer emerged, which she immediatly grabbed.

 

“W-what are you planning on doing with  _ that _ ?” Perii stuttered, backing away.

 

“Defend myself,” the Pearl answered. “In case I find someone, or the guard we poofed comes back.”

 

“...carry on.”

 

The Pearl left, and Perii went to work. Everything was as she remembered -- it was a similar model to the one she’d flown on her way to the colony. She flew into autopilot, figuring out where this ship’s set coordinates were and how easily they could be changed. It appeared that she could access the mainframe from here as well. Remembering the Pearl’s words, she quickly entered the Pearl and guard as missing, and continued.

 

As she was preparing to take off, the Pearl came back. “I found someone,” she whispered. “But I don’t think they’ll be much of a problem for us. Take off, take off  _ right now _ .”

  
Perii pressed the button, and take off they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm usually a more talkative author, so hello! I hope you're enjoying my little story here ^w^. More info will definitely be provided in the next chapter, especially about our lovely Pink Pearl and the thing she found! I hope you look forward to them soon!


End file.
